


Flash Fanfiction - Episode 2 - Sterling City holiday

by Mindmarvel



Series: Flash Fanfic Introducing Mind Marvel [2]
Category: Green Arrow - All Media Types, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 20:12:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13865172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindmarvel/pseuds/Mindmarvel
Summary: (ARROW CROSSOVER) Second episode in alternate earth series. The entire series is based on the Flash. but this episode is a crossover with The Arrow. Astrid Sutherland takes a break from Central City after the effects of the meteor shower have become too hard to handle. She goes to Sterling City looking for her friend Oliver and gains a mentor in The Arrow.





	1. Chapter 1

Astrid sat in a high class nightclub in Sterling City, sipping a glass of wine and dodging passes from sleazy patrons. She had come for one reason, and one reason only. She held out her card and handed it to the female bartender that she had befriended using small talk. "Pay for that man's next drink." She told the young woman, pointing her gaze to the man who had just entered the room.

The woman gasped, "You have good taste, that is Oliver Queen."  
Astrid nodded and left the bar to find a private booth, taking her glass and leaving her card with the bartender. She found one in the shadows, only illuminated by a dim lamp on the brown papered walls.

She took a sip from her wine and watched from her peripheral vision as Oliver approached the bar and ordered his drink. She turned away and hoped that the bartender had pointed him in her direction. She could hear his thoughts before she could see him.  
"Fancy seeing you here…" he told her out loud as he sat down across from her at the table with a glass of scotch. He handed her credit card to her and continued, "the bartender said you offered to pay, but you know me…"

Astrid took her card from him, "Yes, I do know you. But I haven't seen you in what? Seven years? I mean you did only just come back from the dead a year ago… and I suppose that I missed you. So I thought I would come for a visit, better late than never…"  
"I take it that this has nothing to do with our phone call today?" he asked her. It did, but she wasn't going to admit that. "No, why would it?" she flirted.

Astrid took another sip of her drink. Only to realize that she had finished it. Noticing this, Oliver raised his hand up for a waiter to come by and order her another one.  
Once the waiter had left Astrid leant in and looked at Oliver seriously. "The truth is. I need your help…" Oliver nodded, he had predicted this, since the moment he had seen her.

"You know that meteor shower a few months back?"  
He nodded, waiting for her to say something about her father's death and the stress of inheriting the company.  
"Well, when I awoke from my coma… it changed me. It gave me some sort of… ability," she told him. He stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I can..." she was trying to think of the right words to say. This was the first time that she had spoken it out loud, as quiet as she was speaking.  
"I can read minds, Ollie. I can hear what people are thinking…" Oliver cleared his mind. He wasn't expecting her to tell him this. "you can read minds?"  
"I can read minds." She repeated, "like I just knew that you were thinking about the island, just now."

Oliver leant back in his chair and took another sip of his scotch. "Does anyone else know?" he asked her.  
"Not unless someone has the same gift as I do. I haven't told anyone…until now. I don't even know why I am telling you. I suppose it's because I was always able to trust you in the past… but I haven't even told Cisco… and now I am rambling."

The waiter brought Astrid a fresh glass of wine over. She sipped it and focused on the waiter's mind, who immediately left. "He wants to ask out the girl at the bar…" she told Oliver, referring to the waiter.

"So this gift? You can read anyone's mind?" Oliver asked. "Anyone that I focus on. It's actually pretty easy." Astrid tried to focus on Oliver's mind again.  
"That's strange, I can't read yours at the moment." She was surprised, "It's like there is some sort of wall. I could before."  
Oliver was relieved. "I have had practiced learning to be unreadable." He told her.

Astrid sipped her wine. "So you never explained to me why you need my help." Oliver said.  
"I don't think that I even know. I think it was more that I needed to get away and you were offering me a way out. I needed to go somewhere that no one knew me. Somewhere I can come to terms with this gift, before I explain to my friends."

Astrid stared at her drink. The sound of a woman screaming distracted them both. They looked up to see a group of men dressed in black and holding rifles in their hands. They were pointing their weapons at the patrons. They were looking for someone and ransacking the place in the process. The music had stopped entirely.  
"Get under the table!" Oliver demanded of Astrid, quietly.  
"Where are you going?" she asked him as he stood up to leave.  
"Just stay under the table. Don't make a sound." 

Astrid listened to him, and crawled under the table adjusting her short blue dress as she knelt.  
She focused her thoughts on the men. Trying to hear if someone was approaching her. She couldn't see due to the lounge being in the way. She could hear people screaming. The men were yelling. "Where is he?! Where is Reynolds?!" one of the men yelled.

"He isn't here," The woman at the bar answered in fear. "He hasn't been here all day."  
Astrid shifted her focus to the footsteps that were coming closer. She gulped. 'I swore there was someone here before.' The thoughts of the man who was coming closer.

Astrid mentally prepared herself. If the man found her, she would be willing to fight. But throwing herself into the fight would be reckless.  
"He's here!" one of the men declared, "It's The Arrow!"  
Loud shots echoed in the room, startling her as she put her hands to her ears tightly. She could hear screams. The man who had walked towards Astrid went back towards the bar.

She poked her head out, subtly and was astounded to see The Arrow in action. Deflecting bullets and shooting arrows at the men. She was in awe.  
She noticed a group of young frightened patrons across from her. On the right of her was the bar to the left, there was a side exit. If the Arrow could keep the men distracted, she could get the patrons to safety. She managed to wave at them from her hiding spot. She looked towards the men to see that she was not in eyesight.

She crept towards the frightened group and whispered for them to make their way towards the exit. She approached another group and got them to follow the first group, telling them all to stay low. She kept her eyes on the action and managed to sneak another group out to the exit, still keeping low to the ground.  
The Arrow locked his eyes on to her. She was clearly acting reckless. One of the men fell back as he was struck by an arrow in the leg. As he tried to clamber to his feet he spotted   
Astrid and reached for his weapon. Astrid froze in her tracks. She read his mind. The man was ready to shoot her.

She breathed deep. Would this be her last breath? She kept her eyes locked on his. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and he began to choke. A thick red substance spilled from his mouth. Astrid realized that it was blood. She gasped as she noticed an arrow had been shot into the man's ear.  
Astrid felt shock strike her as the man died before her eyes. She didn't know how much time had passed as she saw Oliver crouching over her. "Astrid, it's ok. You're safe."  
She looked at him blankly and allowed him to help her to her feet. "The man… he… he is dead…" she gasped.

Police began piling in and asking questions. Not a single patron had been hurt. The Arrow had arrived just in time, and he had left before the police had got there. "Take me to my hotel, please?" Astrid asked Oliver. She didn't want to stay here a moment longer.  
"No, Astrid. You can stay with me, Let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh Astrid," Thea declared at first seeing her at breakfast with Oliver, "I didn't know you were in town! Why didn't you tell me, Ollie?"  
"I was quite surprised too." Oliver told his sister, who had always had warm admiration for his friend.  
"It was a last minute thing, Thea." Astrid answered.

"The two of you haven't rekindled your romance?" Thea asked, with hope.  
Astrid looked at Oliver, the last thing she needed at that moment was another complicated relationship. "No, not that I am aware of. That was seven years ago, and we both have our own lives. And last time I heard Ollie was with Laurel? Or was it… Oh never mind!" she tried to think back to his last conquest and couldn't quite remember.

"Maybe we should just change the subject." Oliver broke in, "Astrid's father left her Sutherland Labs, so frankly she is down for business, Aren't you, Star?" He was referring to the old nick name he had given her when they were younger. Star being almost an anagram of her name and also to her old obsession with space at the time.  
"Yep, nothing exciting, sorry to disappoint." Astrid told Thea. "Speaking of business," Astrid looked at Oliver. "You said that you would show me the ropes? We should get going!" She was still a little out of sorts due to what had happened the night before, but she refused to let it derail her any longer.

The two left, though instead of heading to Queen industries to learn the ropes of business, Oliver took Astrid to the busiest place he could find at the time. The park. They sat on a bench together in the midst of the crowds.

"So, we are here so you can work on your gift. You obviously only need to focus, to hear thoughts, but how many thoughts can you hear at the same time?" he asked her.  
"You're asking me to read multiple minds at once?" Astrid ask, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.  
"That is exactly what I am asking. Start small, try that elderly couple right there." He pointed to a man and a woman feeding the birds. Astrid focused on the man's mind. That was easy. Then the woman's mind. She heard her thoughts but couldn't hear the old man's thoughts any longer. It was as if the connection had ended.

"I can't do it!" she told Oliver.  
"You can. Just try again." He told her.  
She tried again, though the same thing happened. One mind at a time. Her forehead began to hurt so she cradled her head in her hands. "No luck. Oliver maybe it's just not possible."  
"I doubt it. It's like the sense of hearing all you need to do is channel your senses. Try it again."

This time it worked. She could hear two distinct voices at the same time in her mind. The man and the woman's. As she was listening, two other people walked past. She expanded her new found sense of hearing. She could now hear four voices in her mind at once. It was as if she were in a crowded room, though only she could hear these secret voices.  
Her head was in sheering pain at that point. She tried to close her mind off from the voices. It wouldn't work. This time she could hear multiple voices all around her. "Arrgghh!" she cried out, clutching at her head. She envisioned a soundproof wall and the voices all disappeared.

"Did you do it?" Oliver asked. His voice sounded louder than the sound of the thoughts had been, making her jump. It was as if the mental wall and his voice had distracted her and had closed off the link. Her head still had a dull ache.  
"I did it, Oliver. I actually did." She said, surprised at herself. He tried to keep his mind blank. Her powers were getting stronger.  
"What are you hiding, Oliver? What happened to you?" she asked him. He wasn't sure if she had tried to read his mind or not. He didn't feel any different.  
"Why do you ask?" he asked her.

"You have changed! You are not the Oliver Queen that you once were. The Oliver that I remembered was a charming womanizer. You were also a jerk. Poor Cisco, you were not the nicest when it came to him, either. If you ask me, it's a good thing. You have changed for the better."  
Oliver let his guard down for the briefest of moments. If only she knew…

His mind envisioned all the torture, the grief and the training that he went through on that island. He envisioned every little detail that he had replayed in the past year since he had been rescued. That five years on the island had impacted his entire life and changed him from the very man he used to be.

He realized when it was too late that Astrid had read every one of his thoughts. Fortunately, they were only the thoughts of the island and nothing more.  
"Oh Oliver!" she empathized. In all her years as a criminal psychologist she didn't know what to say. This was her friend and she had seen every image of torture that he had experienced.

"That would change anyone." She bit her lip. She felt as if she might have said the wrong thing. There was a brief moment between the two of them that brought her back to the time that they dated. They had been together for three years in total, thanks to their father's associations. It was an epic relationship, as if they were made for each other.

The media loved them, they evened each other out in everything they did. But it was the way he treated her best friend that made her end it all. Of all the time she had known Oliver, she had always put Cisco Ramon above all else. But that Oliver Queen had been a jerk, and here she was sitting with the new Oliver. The old chemistry was still there.

Their moment was broken by a ringing from Astrid's purse. She pulled out her phone and saw who was calling her. Her face fell. It was Cisco. She had expected his call, considering she had left in the night without telling anyone. Oliver had also seen the caller's name. Astrid refused to answer it. She put the phone back in to her purse and pulled out some money.

"I need to get a drink. I'll be back in a minute." She left her purse, with her phone in it, with Oliver and left the bench to go to the drink vendor.  
'What is she running from?' Oliver wondered to himself, seeing himself in her at that moment. Her phone rang again. He let the phone ring through and glanced at Astrid waiting in line for a drink. Her phone stopped ringing again. Then it started up again, this time he pulled the phone out of the purse and read Cisco's name. He knew that if he didn't answer it, it would continue to ring. Oliver answered the phone.

"Astrid! Finally, Where are you! We're all going mad trying to reach you." Cisco's voice spoke immediately.  
"Cisco? It's me, Oliver. Astrid is fine. Is everything ok?"

Cisco swore in Spanish but Oliver interrupted him. "Relax, I didn't kidnap her. Last night, she just showed up. Is she ok, what is going on with her?"  
He could hear Cisco sighing in relief. "She has been trying to keep it all together since waking up from her coma." Oliver remembered the phone call, that he had received from Cisco four months ago, about her accident.

"I think she has hit breaking point, Oliver." Cisco told him, "She doesn't know the first thing about running her father's business. She even teamed up with Luthor Corp. One of her friend's is fighting for his life. I am worried about her."

He hadn't mentioned anything about Astrid's mind reading abilities, so Oliver wouldn't either. Oliver waited until Cisco had finished saying everything that he needed to say, before Oliver spoke again. "We need to hire a temporary stand in for Astrid to take charge of the business for a little while. Just until she can get back on her feet. Maybe a holiday is what she needs right now and then she will go back to being the Astrid we both know and love."

"Ok." There was a tone of defeat in Cisco's voice. "I need to go, but before I do, tell her… tell I am worried about her."  
"I will." Oliver told him, honestly. Cisco ended the call and Oliver brought the phone away from his ear and put it back in Astrid's purse. He scanned the park, the vendor that she had just gone to, but found no sight of Astrid.

He stood up to get a better look. He pulled out her phone again, looking for a 'selfie' picture. It was very rare to find one, but alas there was one.  
He took the phone to the vendor, "Hey! Have you seen this girl?" he asked the girl selling drinks. She was in awe that Oliver Queen was talking to her. "er… yes! Mr Queen… but she left a couple minutes ago. That is Astrid Sutherland."

"Where did she go?" he asked her in a hurry.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't see." She answered softly, "I had so many customers."  
Oliver stepped back and looked around. It was clear to him that she was missing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Felicity! I need you to hack into the city's cameras. Pull up Field street park at roughly 10:15 this morning. My friend Astrid has gone missing." Oliver commanded of the blonde witty computer geek, the moment he saw her in her office at Queen industries.

"Astrid? Who is she?" Felicity asked, puzzled. She had surely never heard Oliver mention that name before.  
"An old friend of mine came into town last night. She vanished today and it's just not like her to do that… Well to leave me with her bag and phone anyway." He placed Astrid's purse on the desk next to Felicity.

"That purse is expensive. Whoever this girl is, she has great taste!" Felicity Smoak marveled.  
"Astrid Sutherland." Oliver said, with a pointed expression on his face, meaning business. He wanted her to get to work. He pulled out his phone to call his friend and appointed bodyguard John Diggle.

Felicity got to typing. She was surprised that she didn't guess sooner. She knew who Astrid Sutherland was. Anybody who was anybody would know who she was. If she was missing, then they had to find her.

She managed to find the video footage from earlier and she waited for Oliver to finish his call. "I think I have it. I have you sitting on the bench talking to the heiress of Sutherland Labs right here. That girl is possibly just as famous as you are Ollie." She said with a smirk.

Oliver stood behind her, his eyes on the screen. "Play the footage." He told her. The footage slowly showed both he and Astrid in deep conversation, he couldn't hear what they were talking about though. Astrid pulled her phone out of her bag but didn't answer it. She placed it back in her handbag, then she stood up and left. "Can you see where she goes?" Oliver asked, but Felicity was already clicking away and pulled up more footage.

This time the video showed Astrid waiting in line for her drink. Someone stood behind her and she turned to talk to them. She wore a look of shock on her face as if she had seen a ghost. She received her drink and then the figure, who was clearly a man from the outline of his back seemed to convince Astrid to follow him. She did so freely, though clutching her hand to her face as if she were deeply distraught about something.

"Felicity can you find out who that man is? Get an image of his face." Fortunately, Felicity was able to hack into another camera. After doing a little searching, she had not only pulled up the face, but also a full profile of the man.

"Oliver. That is James Anderson. He was Mr Robert Sutherland's assistant." She told him.  
"So he survived the meteor shower that killed Robert?" Oliver asked, not knowing what she was so startled about. Felicity brought her hand to her mouth and pointed to his profile on the screen with her other hand. "Oliver, he was pronounced dead." Oliver looked at what she was pointing to. By his records he had been pronounced 'deceased'.

"Can you find out where they are going?" Oliver asked her. "Does any footage show if they got into a car by any chance?"  
Felicity resumed the video footage, watching the pair. But it went black. As if the tape had been wiped. She tried finding any other corresponding footage, but had no success.  
She began to get concerned. As did Oliver. "We need to find her. See what else you can find out about James Anderson. I know she went off willingly, but something really does not feel right at all. I will call Thea, get her to let me know if she shows up."

"Have you had any luck finding her?" John Diggle asked when he arrived to Felicity's office. Oliver was on the phone to Thea.  
"No, not yet." Felicity replied, deep in research. "Wait, I think there is something here." She said, grasping Oliver's attention as he ended his phone call.  
She had stumbled across a conspiracy forum. "These may just be the rumors we are looking at, Ollie. But this might be the place to start."  
"What do we need rumors for?" John asked.

Felicity showed them the webpage with a series of posts from bloggers.  
'I heard something about a group of men who faked their own deaths and escaped Smallville. Bad stuff, like experiments were being done on them…' Said one comment.  
'I heard that too! Do you know where they all went?' another blogger posted.

'Nah! Man, it's all heresay! Besides they wouldn't want Luthor corp to find out their whereabouts if it was true.' The first blogger replied.  
"You're right, Felicity! There is certainly something to go on. Can the two of you put your ear to the ground, see if you can uncover anything?" Oliver asked them.  
"Already poking around the web, Ollie." Felicity said as Oliver began to leave the room, "Where are you going?"  
"I'm going to see if the Arrow can find anything." Oliver replied, before leaving. Felicity gave a soft smile towards John Diggle as she got back to typing. They were the only two people who knew the Arrow's true identity and she had sworn an oath that she would never reveal it to a soul.


	4. Chapter 4

Astrid had been led to an old warehouse on the beach by her father's former assistant James Anderson. She was absolutely astounded to see that he was indeed alive. He had led her here as he had some information for her, regarding her father's death and what had truly happened.  
It was the next best thing than having her father back, finding out the truth, though apparently Mr Anderson was in hiding, his whole family were under the impression he too was dead.

But now she was standing here, waiting with him to be let into this old warehouse by whoever was on the inside. "You need to reach out to your family,' she told him.  
"I can't, Astrid… and you can't either. You will know why soon."  
Astrid didn't dare probe his mind. Whatever the issue was, it must have been bad and she did not want to see anything that could bring her to tears. The door to the warehouse opened and a shady looking man eyed her suspiciously.

"You know who she is," Mr Anderson told the man, "now please, let us in."  
The man nodded and showed them into the building, closing the door, quickly behind them.  
Astrid looked around the dimly lit makeshift shelter. There were approximately 20 men and women inside, excluding herself and James Anderson.  
There were tables, shelves with food supplies, crates, minimal furniture, sleeping bags and tables. These people had been living here, it was clear that it was only a temporary residence.

"You have all been… living here?" Astrid questioned James.  
"We have nowhere else to go after what happened to us at Luthorcorp." The man who had welcomed them in finished.  
Astrid nodded. "Did you tell her what happened?" the man asked James.  
"No, it wasn't my call." He responded.

The man clicked his tongue in frustration. He was roughly ten years older than Astrid, "I supposed it's up to me then. You see the men that you have just teamed up with, are responsible for carrying out cruel tests on people. Us, to be exact!"  
"What sort of testing?" Astrid asked, puzzled.

"Invasive tests!" a woman who looked only a few years older than Astrid, with short dark hair and an olive complexion appeared before them, cutting off the other man. "You don't need to worry your pretty little head. Your father was responsible for saving us." Astrid wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, by the tone that the woman had used.

"Let me show you around, my name is Kate by the way." the woman said, taking Astrid's hand in her own. It was strangely cold, though she thought nothing of it. Kate introduced her to a few of the people in the group. They were all very polite and all had families somewhere wondering where they all were. They all had stories to tell Astrid, and most of them were all so excited to finally meet her.

"Now, you may wonder why we have brought you here," Kate said to Astrid, after a while.  
It occurred to Astrid that these people knew that she had come here to Sterling City. Had they been following her? Waiting for the right time to strike?  
She waited for the woman to explain. She was now standing in the very heart of the warehouse, the whole crowd had now gathered around and were staring at her, as if expecting something of her. Kate held her palm out, facing upwards.

"Those tests that Luthorcorp carried out on us, changed us. Some of us for the worse." Astrid noticed as a puddle of water had formed in the palm on of her hand, giving Astrid the impression that the roof had a leak. What happened next marveled Astrid.  
The water began to pour upwards from her hand, reaching Kate's eye level.  
"That is… That is amazing." Astrid gasped.

"it is amazing. But this is just an example of what the testing did to us. A friend of mine was turned into a hybrid beast. Part man, part shark." The thought of a shark-man hybrid sent a chill up Astrid's spine.  
"So what do you need from me?" Astrid asked. "You brought me here, I'm willing to help."  
Kate smiled and rubbed her hands together, the water disappeared in midair.

"When we escaped, we left a lot of good people behind. We had to hurry as we had some of Lionel Luthor's men chasing us. We need you to help get them back. You are working with him now, which means you have the means to get in there and help them. Please, I beg you! Save them."  
"I promise you that I will…" Astrid didn't have the chance to finish her sentence. Before her eyes the doors burst open and men dressed in balaclavas and holding weapons burst in the doors of the warehouse and started shooting. Her new friends began to use their powers of the elements to protect themselves. There was a blur of fire, ice, and the use of other skills, deflecting bullets.

"Astrid, hide!" Kate yelled at her, blasting water from her hands at the newcomers, at full speed. It reminded her of a fireman's hose, it had worked as a perfect distraction, no one saw as she found a place to hide. She wanted to help, but she knew that she couldn't fight. She obeyed Kate and hid inside one of the crates, praying that she would not be found.

She pulled a coat over herself. She was the groups only hope to save their friends and bring Lionel to justice for what he had done. The loud noise began to die down but she could still hear footsteps.  
"Is that all of them?" she heard one man ask, a voice that she was not familiar with said. "I think I saw one hide over in those crates." Another man chimed in.  
"You two… go check it out!" the first man spoke again.

Astrid held her breath, she read in the men's mind that they were indeed coming her way. She only wished that she could make herself invisible.  
She felt the weight of the coat lift off of her, and felt her hands tremble as a weapon was pointed to her head. "We found her." One of the men said. She only wished that they were not wearing balaclavas so she could see their faces.

"That is not one of them!" the other man standing next to him chimed in. "Don't you watch the news? That is Astrid Sutherland! Lionel's new partner."  
The men ordered Astrid to climb out of the crate, holding the gun to her. So she obeyed without hesitation. There were five men in the warehouse with her. All her new friends were dead on the floor. They had clearly put up a fight as they had taken a few of Luthor's men down with them. "We cannot kill her." The voice who had ordered the men to find her, spoke up again.

"Why not?" the man holding the gun to her asked.  
"Are you stupid? We kill her than we have to explain that to the boss. Tie her up until we can work out what to do with her. I will call for backup. She clearly doesn't have any powers or she would have used them by now."  
Astrid was tied to a post with her arms above her head. She used her mindreading to work out the leader's next moves. Backup would be there soon and he had no idea what to do next.

"Arrrggghhhh!" one of the men shrieked in pain, grasping Astrid's attention. She saw an arrow pierce through the shoulder of the man who had screamed. No, not his shoulder… his chest. He dropped to the floor, dead.

Astrid looked around, she couldn't see the hooded vigilante anywhere. Another arrow flew past her head and into the back of another man.  
"Oh, Shit! Who are these guys?" One of the men yelled, reaching for his gun and shooting aimlessly. Astrid was scared that she would get struck by a bullet at any moment.  
An arrow went through the leg of the man with the gun, knocking him to the floor and then another pinned him to the floor by his arm.

She sighed a sense of relief. There were two men left. One stood behind her, using her as a human shield. The other man ran out of the warehouse in fear. Astrid still couldn't see the Arrow anywhere, but she knew that he was still there. She felt the sudden breath as the man behind her gasped and dropped from behind her. She knew he had been killed and she prayed that it had been done by the Arrow and not some madman.

Then she saw him, jump down from one of the arches supporting the roof. His eyes shielded by a green hood, clutching a bow by his side and walking towards her. "Twice in two days. I think you must be following me." Astrid told him using as much charm as she could muster.  
The hooded vigilante didn't say anything.

"Thank you for saving me." She told him, trying to encourage him to speak. There was something about him that was familiar to her. She tried to read his thoughts, though it felt like there was some sort of wall stopping her. The same thing had happened with Ollie earlier.

The stranger stepped behind her, shifting the body of the man who had died behind her, out the way. The stranger then untied her hands. The minute he did, something brought him to his feet in pain. He dropped his bow as a reaction. A bullet from outside had pierced his knee. It was clear that backup had just arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked him as the Arrow struggled to get to his feet, "Can you move? Who am I kidding? That bullet would have made it nearly impossible for you to run." Astrid heard voices coming their way. She placed her hands back above her head so they still looked tied up. "Hang in there," she whispered. "I will think of something."  
He looked at his bullet wound. The bullet was lodged into the bone. She was right it would be almost impossible to run. He couldn't find anything to cut it out with. He would need to dislodge it with his fingers. He poked about the wound and located the bullet, pulling it out. He could feel that it had released some sort of chemical into his body. A fancy type of tranquil.

"Well, would you look at that? It seems we have captured both Sterling City's hooded vigilante along with the new CEO of Sutherland Labs." He looked up at the men who had entered the warehouse. There were seven of them. He could take them down if the poison didn't kick in first. He aimed his bow, but the world began to spin. What was in that bullet?

The man who had spoken gestured to the men to hold him down. He attempted to fight them off, but the dosage of the chemical was too strong. His efforts were worthless. As he was held down the leader of the group approached him. He was clearly pleased to have the Arrow in his possession. "Lionel would love this. When he finds that we have captured the Arrow, he will be pleased. But first… "

The man punched the hooded vigilante in the head, but as he pulled back his fist, he removed the hood in the process. "Oliver?" Astrid gasped. How stupid of her not to realize sooner. Oliver tried to shield his face from her.  
Astrid saw this as the perfect opportunity. Everyone's attention was on Oliver. Clutching the post, behind her, with both her hands, she pulled up her legs and kicked two of the men that had hold of Oliver hard. They fell back.

This gave Oliver enough time to punch the leader and stumble to his feet, beside Astrid. One man went to punch Astrid. She took hold of his fist and restrained him, almost breaking his arm in the process. Oliver took aim with his bow. He was still feeling very dizzy, but he managed to shoot another man down.  
Astrid threw her hostage to the floor, he hit his head on the post that she had been tied to. Oliver shot two more down, while Astrid fought with another. Neither one of them saw the leader of them pull out a gun and aim it at her.

As Astrid head-butted another man who had taken hold of her from behind, she kicked the man that she had been fighting, in the groin. It brought him to his knees. The man that she had head-butted, held his nose, she had clearly broken it. Oliver shot an arrow at him bringing him down.

The leader grabbed at her violently and held his gun to her cheek. Oliver ensured that there were no more men standing, other than the three of them. He aimed the next arrow towards them, though he didn't fire. He knew if he missed, he could kill her. "Astrid?" he asked, looking for a sign of what to do. He could tell that see was reading the man's mind.  
"He won't kill me, Oliver." She told him. "If he kills me, Lionel's plans are ruined. Mr Luthor needs me."

"Shut up, girl!" the man told her, "The boss can do his job without you... he always has!"  
"Now, you know that's not true. Don't you? My friends know where I am. This place is bugged and you will be caught on camera if you kill me. Lionel wouldn't like that." Astrid bluffed, hoping that it was working.

The man thought for a moment, he knew that she was right and she knew it. "Let me go, and we let you leave. If not, you know what Lionel will do to you."  
He lowered his gun, though Oliver kept his arrow aimed at him. "Call your men off!" Oliver demanded. The man put his gun to the ground and pulled out his phone. He did as he was commanded.

"Now, will you let me go?" he asked of them.  
"We had a deal!" Astrid told him. He turned around, his back to them and began to walk away slowly. Astrid closed her eyes softly as she saw the arrow glide softly past her and strike the man in the back of the head. He dropped to the floor instantly.

Astrid fell to her feet, stunned about what had happened. "We had a deal that he could leave, Oliver!" she told him, looking around at the bodies on the floor.  
"No, you had a deal. He was a loose end and he wouldn't have kept his word." He replied.  
"Yes he would have. I can read minds remember? Though I don't know why I didn't know that you were… are the Arrow..."  
"This is not the place to talk about this, we need to get out of here, now!" Oliver told her. She agreed and followed him out.


	6. Chapter 6

"Why are we heading to a club, Ollie? We need to get you to a hospital. Your leg doesn't look so good and whatever they injected you with, can't be good." Astrid told him as they entered the doors of Verdant. It was the late afternoon and so the club was empty besides the two of them.

Oliver closed the door behind them and hobbled across the floor. He continued to ignore Astrid's offer of support to help him walk. He led her to the back, where a door was locked by a keypad. He typed in a code and the door opened. They both entered the concealed room and Oliver switched on the lights. There were tables, computers on a desk, what looked like a physical training area, shelves and other furniture.

"Ok, I get it. This is your headquarters." Astrid said. She located a table and cleared it, "Now, sit down here, before you bleed out!" she demanded, he listened.  
She tore the hole to his pants at the knee wider so she could examine his wound. It was still bleeding heavily. "I still can't believe that you took the bullet out with your fingers. Do you have a medical kit?"

Oliver still felt as if his world was spinning. The effects of the poison seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. He motioned towards a shelf with a large box sitting on top.  
Astrid left him for a moment and retrieved the kit, along with a sample kit. "I want to get a sample of your blood and get it tested. We need to find out what that drug is and how to treat it. I'm just hoping that it will not kill you. I stand by my earlier statement… We should have taken you to a hospital." Astrid collected a sample of his blood with the swab and   
then packed the sample vial in the clear plastic bag. She then bandaged up his leg.

"I can't risk anyone finding out who I am, Astrid. You have to know that."  
"I do know that. But I am concerned because I don't know how bad your leg is, or just what that poison was. You can trust me! I wont tell anyone who you really are. Just as I know that I can trust, that you will not tell anyone my secret. I haven't even told Cisco yet." She sat on the table beside him. "It's funny, it seems like just yesterday we were bonding over the fact our fathers had the same first name. Back when we had just started dating, as kids. But now you're Sterling City's vigilante. And I am… I am freak show with telepathic abilities."

"Don't you dare, for one minute call yourself that!" Oliver told her sternly, "You are still the same Astrid you ever were. Nothing will change that! I understand that right now you are dealing with a lot, but I want you, for just one minute to think about what you have to offer. What you did today. You were brave enough to help me fight those men. You were a little rusty on your skills but we made a good team."

"We did, didn't we?" she smiled to herself. Maybe this was her new calling. Maybe she could use her new abilities to help people. But being a hero just seemed to be too much. She didn't want to be in the limelight, it wasn't her place, she hated the media as it was.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by Oliver kissing her, though before she could respond someone entered the room and spoke. "Oliver, are you ok? Your tracker said that you were here."

They both turned to see a girl with glasses and her blonde hair tied back into a pony tail walk into the room. "Felicity, this is Astrid." Oliver said, getting to his feet. His leg still hurt so it made him buckle a little. "Oh my…" Felicity gasped at the sight of Astrid. "You're Astrid Sutherland. You're like a celebrity and you're... right here… Oh! I am Felicity and I am a rambling idiot, right now."

Astrid laughed nervously. She was still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. She picked up the blood sample from the table beside the first aid kit. "I didn't walk in on any special moment did I?" Felicity asked the two of them, "I mean I actually just read that the two of you were an item when you were younger but that was …"  
"No, you didn't. Felicity was it?" Astrid responded, trying to cut the awkward tension. "Would you know where I can get a blood test done? It is sort of… confidential." Astrid wasn't sure if Felicity knew Oliver's secret.  
"It's okay, Star. Felicity knows who I am." Oliver told her.

"Oh! That's good. Still would you know? Oliver got hit by a bullet and there was some sort of poison in it. We need to know what it was, and at the moment, I am just a little far from home to use my own resources." Astrid said.

"Star? Is it? Wow! That is so cute!" Felicity gushed over Astrid's nickname, "Sure, I can take that for you," she removed the sample bag from Astrid's hands and turned to Oliver and spoke, before leaving them, "John will be here soon. He said he needed to sort a few things out first."

Astrid turned to Oliver. "I read your mind earlier. I saw what you went through on that island. I saw you train. Wow, you can fight! Sure, I know how to fight too and I know a little gymnastics. But I want you to train me, like you were. No, I NEED you to train me! I don't want to be the hero. But I also don't want to be a damsel in distress either. Please!"  
"Astrid…"

"I will not take no for an answer, Ollie. You know that I won't!"  
"Ok," he answered hesitantly, "but it won't be easy!" he gave in as he knew it would be in both their best interest.  
"Nothing worth having ever is."

Oliver hobbled over to the desk and retrieved something for her. "I thought you may have missed this, Felicity was in awe over it." he handed Astrid her purse. She was relieved to have it back in her hands. She pulled out her phone and found that she had received multiple messages and a few missed calls.  
"I spoke to Cisco." Oliver told her, noting her expression.  
"Oh no! Oliver…"

"Relax, everything went fine. I told him that I would look after you and that you need the holiday after everything you have been through. He is worried about you."  
"Of course he is," Astrid muttered under her breath.  
"What happened between the two of you? You two have always been so close. After all he was the reason…" Oliver's voice trailed off.

"Say it, Oliver. He was the reason you and I broke up. I picked him over you and it burnt your ego. It turned you into an ever bigger jerk, but then everything was fine and you met Laurel. But if you must know, he was only ever my best friend." she paused for a moment, "But before my little press conference, I may have... read his mind. He was about to tell me that he is in love with me and he always has been."  
Oliver didn't seem surprised about this news, "You didn't know?"

"No I didn't. But none of that matters anymore. My whole world has been turned upside down and right now I need to be selfish. I need to focus on the things that I can control, such as myself, my new abilities and taking over my father's business. Ruining my best friend's life is just not in the cards for me, at this point in time. So he just needs to forget about it."

Astrid wiped away a few tears that had formed in her eyes, unexpectedly. She put her phone back in her purse and put the purse on the table, beside the first aid kit.  
Oliver placed his hand on Astrid's shoulder for support. The dizzy spells were getting stronger. To both their surprise, he collapsed to the floor beside her feet. "Oliver!" Astrid cried, alarmed.


	7. Chapter 7

Astrid and John Diggle surrounded the table that Oliver was laying unconscious on. Both of which were panicked. Neither one of them had introduced themselves, but they were working together trying to establish what was wrong with their friend.

Astrid barked out an order to man, "You need to call Felicity. Get her to put a rush on the blood work. I need to call a friend of mine. She will know what to do!" Astrid pulled out her phone to find Caitlin Snow's number. "Pick up, pick up, pick up!" she pleaded.

"Astrid? Are you ok? What is going on with you?" Caitlin's voice on the phone was music to Astrid's ear.  
"I'm fine, Cait. I need advice. How would one treat poison getting into the bloodstream?" Astrid asked her, in a hurry.  
"I'm going to need a little more to go on. What sort of poison? Whose injured? Are you okay, Astrid?" Caitlin's voice was concerned.  
Astrid looked up at John. He was on the phone to Felicity. "You need to tell them to get a move on, Felicity. Now! What is the Chemical?" His face fell as she answered him. Astrid couldn't hear what she was saying but she imagined that it wasn't good.

"Astrid! What's going on?" Caitlin's voice asked her through the phone.  
"Please, Caitlin. You need to trust me. I cannot tell you exactly. Just know that I am ok. I just need to know what to do."  
Caitlin sighed on the other end of the phone. "You either need to find an antidote or let it pass through the system and keep monitoring vitals. I am sorry that is all that I can offer you."

"Ok, thanks Caitlin. I have to go." Astrid hung up and looked at John. "They couldn't work out what it was. Felicity is on her way back, now." He told her.  
"I thought as much. But I know someone who will know. I need to call the man who is responsible for it. He should have the cure."  
Astrid found the number and dialed Lionel's number. Once the receptionist had put her through, she held her breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. Blackmail one of the biggest sharks in the corporate industry.

"Lionel Luthor, here." His voice spoke on the other end.  
"Lionel Luthor! It is Astrid Sutherland, as you may have guessed. You see we have a problem. A friend of mine was caught in some sort of… predicament with your men. Don't ask me what happened, but I believe it would benefit both of us if you fix their mistake."

"Don't try to weasel me here, girlie. What do you want?" Lionel could see through her charade, but she needed to keep playing ball.  
"Your men shot my friend, Oliver Queen with one of your special bullets. You see the bullet has caused him to suffer badly. I am asking you to bring me the antidote, or you will be held responsible for the death of Oliver Queen. You will be known as public enemy number 1. And I assure you, there will be investigations into Luthor Corp."  
Astrid could hear Lionel sigh, she knew that she had touched a nerve. But she didn't care. "Ok, Astrid. I like the way you work. I will send one of my men to meet one of your associates. I will send the location to your phone. You will get the antidote. Though I am curious as to how your friend got tied up with the business that my men were undertaking, the minute you got to Sterling City. We will be in touch."

Astrid got off the phone and smiled at John Diggle. "He is going to give us the antidote. We need to meet his associate at some location, I just need to wait for the message. That seemed far too easy. Something doesn't feel right here."  
"I agree. I will meet his associate to determine if there is something else at play." Mr Diggle told her. Astrid's phone beeped. She checked the message and showed him the coordinates. "Are you sure that you will be fine going by yourself?"

"I'm certain. I was originally hired as Oliver's bodyguard. I'm sure that I can look after myself. Felicity will be back soon. Just keep an eye on him." He gestured towards Oliver and made his way out of the room.  
Astrid sat beside Oliver. She felt her stomach growl, she hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was almost 7:00pm. She was hungry but she wasn't going to leave him for a minute. She took hold of his wrist and checked his pulse. It still sounded regular. Oliver jolted. He began to murmur in his sleep. She stood up next to him and stroked his hand. "Shhh," she tried to comfort him.

Astrid focused on his mind. She saw him sitting in an inflatable raft with his father and another man. She could feel his hunger. They were in the middle of the ocean, starving to death. Oliver kept coming out of consciousness. Astrid watched as Robert Queen took the gun and shot his associate and then himself in front of her. Her mind was in the body of Oliver, on the raft.

She wasn't sure if she was feeling his emotions or her own at the shock and grief of what had just happened. This was clearly one of Oliver's memories. "It's ok, Oliver. You're going to be ok." She only hoped that she was right. He seemed to calm down a bit.  
"How is he doing?" Felicity's voice startled her and the smell of Big Belly Burger made her stomach growl again. "I'm not sure. But your friend, John was it? He has gone to go and get, what we hope, is the antidote from Lionel Luthor."

Felicity nodded, "I thought you might be hungry. I picked up some dinner. I just hope you're not one of those girls that doesn't eat carbs, because I have a big bag full right here." Felicity said holding up a bag of Big Belly Burger. Astrid's mouth watered. "You and I are going to be fast friends. I love Big Belly Burger. It's kind of my weakness."  
She took the bag from Felicity and sat down ready to eat. Felicity sat with her own bag and looked up at Astrid "You're not like the normal girls he brings home, you know. I like you."

"Thanks, I guess. I've only just met you. But I get a good feeling about you too." Astrid said, "and not just because you brought me my weakness." She unwrapped her burger and took a bite, hungrily. It was like heaven.

They ate their food in silence. Both of them checking in on Oliver, occasionally.  
Felicity's phone rang. "Diggle? Do you have the antidote?" Felicity asked, when she answered.  
Astrid watched the little dance of excitement that Felicity did on the spot before ending the phone call. "We have the antidote. He's on his way now. He said he has a message for you, though. I wonder what it is."


	8. Chapter 8

"I have the antidote." John Diggle exclaimed as he walked in holding a vial of clear blue liquid. "Miss Felicity Smoak, would you mind doing the honors? I need to have a little chat with Miss Astrid in private." He handed the vial to Felicity and walked to the other side of the room with Astrid.  
Felicity open the lid and put the bottle to Oliver's lips, feeding him the blue liquid. She used a tissue to wipe the excess from his chin and was relieved as he awoke and coughed a little.

Oliver sat up, "Felicity, where is Astrid?" "She's over there." She said, pointing to Astrid.  
She and Diggle had finished their conversation. She ran over to Oliver and hugged him, with relief. "I had to call Luthor Corp for the cure. He clearly came through with his end of the deal."

"Who would think that he would help without an agenda? Without wanting something for his assistance." Oliver replied, suggesting that Lionel was not the sort of man to do something for nothing.

Astrid bit her lip and looked over at Diggle. "At least you don't have to worry about that." She told him, "But I want you to rest. Tomorrow, you will train me!"  
"She's demanding! I like her, Oliver." Felicity told him.

The next day, Astrid and Oliver set to training bright and early. Before the sun had even come up, to be exact. They had been training for at least two hours, now. Astrid threw a punch in the direction of Oliver's face. He ducked and countered her attack, holding her fist and bending her arm behind her back, restraining her.  
She threw her head back, in an attempt to hit his face with the back of her skull. He ducked again and then tripped her to her feet with his leg. He restrained her to the floor. "Your rusty, Star. You used to be able to get me to the floor in two moves." He told her.

"You were easy then, Ollie. But then you spent five years training to survive on an island." Astrid replied bringing her knees to her chest, kicking him backwards and getting to her feet, ready to continue. He threw a punch in her direction this time she ducked and restrained him as her counter. She kicked his leg from behind, which just so happened to be his injured one, from the day before. He fell to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Ollie!" she gasped getting down to his level, "I forgot about your leg."  
Oliver stroked a lock of her dark hair, that had fallen in front of her face, behind her ear. "Do not underestimate your opponent." He told her. "I could say the same to you," she replied. Before he could think any further, she kissed him and he kissed her back.

Then something crossed her mind. She stood up immediately, leaving him puzzled. "We really can't do this Ollie! The training, yes. But we can't just pick back up where we left off. That was years ago and we have different lives now." She helped Oliver to his feet. She was trying to convince herself of this.  
"It's Cisco, isn't it?" he asked her.

"Oliver, it's a lot of things. It's also me. I am just not in the right place to be with anyone at the moment. We need to leave it at that, please?"  
Oliver understood very well. He had been where she was now.  
"I brought you guys some water." Felicity's voice chimed in breaking the tension.  
Astrid was relieved for the interruption and took a bottle of water from Felicity. She opened the lid and drank. It was cold and refreshing.  
"Was I interrupting something here? I seem to do that a lot." Felicity asked Astrid, as Oliver took the other bottle of water. "No, Felicity. There was nothing to interrupt." Astrid replied.

Astrid handed her back the bottle of water. "Let's get back to work, Ollie," She told him, "I promise you, that I will beat you at something before I leave."  
"Leave? So you're still going back?" Felicity asked, sounding offended.  
"Well I need to, my home is in Central City." Astrid told her. Felicity bit her lip. "Well provided you go on at least one girl's day out with me before you do, and you promise to visit, you can go back home."

"It's a deal. We will go out shopping tomorrow… just us girls! Ollie, breaks over! Let's go!" Astrid replied.  
"You hear the girl!" Felicity chimed in, "I'm rooting for girl power!"

Oliver smirked at them both. "You two are an evil duo." He finished off his water bottle and handed it back to Felicity. He rubbed his hands together, "Ok. Let's get back to work!"  
As the sun began to set Astrid had learnt how to use a bow and arrow and had disarmed Oliver multiple times. "I think you just might have it. It's taken you one day to learn what I had in almost five years." Oliver told her. "You're a good teacher. Considering what a horrible student you used to be." Astrid joked.

Astrid heard her phone ringing from in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller. It was Caitlin. She answered the call. "Hi, Astrid. I have news on Barry."  
Astrid gasped. "What's the news? Is he awake?"  
"Not yet." Caitlin answered, though there was excitement in her voice, "So I may or may not have mentioned earlier that his cells are regenerating at an amazing rate. He is healing at rapidly!."

"Caitlin! That's great! Are you telling me that Barry could wake up at any moment?" Astrid was excited at the very thought of it.  
"Astrid, not only am I saying that he could wake up soon. Astrid, I think he may have been effected in some way by the meteor. I think he might have gifts, like that girl at CCPD."  
Astrid looked at Oliver who had walked over to greet Diggle, whom had just entered on the other side of the room. At least she had some privacy.  
"What sort of power are we talking about, Cait?"

"We are talking about super-speed! Astrid. From these readings, Barry could run at least 20,000 miles in the blink of an eye, without breaking a sweat."  
Astrid's mouth gaped open at hearing this news. Oliver had approached her again and was waiting for her to finish her phone call. "Caitlin, please let me know if he wakes up. Otherwise, I will be back in two days… and Caitlin, tell Cisco that I say hi." Astrid ended the call and put the phone back in her pocket.  
"Is everything ok?" Oliver asked, noting the look on her face.

She smiled at him politely. "Everything is fine." She answered. the thought that her friend was close to waking up, had really lightened the mood. "In fact, what say we all go out to dinner and drinks to celebrate?"  
"I'm up for that," John Diggle broke in to their conversation. "After the day I have had, I could use a drink."


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver, Astrid, Felicity and Diggle dined at the most expensive restaurant in Sterling City at Oliver and Astrid's expense.  
Astrid was enjoying herself, but her mind kept darting back to the message that Diggle had passed on from Lionel's associate, when he had retrieved Oliver's antidote. It must have been a hoax, some sort of trap, though photos do not lie. The black and white picture with the time stamp that John Diggle had handed her could have been a fraud.  
She would look into that later. Now was not the time. She sipped her wine and pushed the thought to the back of her mind and glanced up at John who was busy engaging in conversation with Oliver about his latest case.

Astrid glanced at her phone, she was hoping to see a message from Caitlin. There wasn't one. "You look like you're not enjoying yourself." Felicity's voice broke in.  
"No, I am. I am just anxiously waiting for good news." Astrid answered her, placing her phone back in her purse.  
"About your friend right?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah, Barry. Caitlin told me that he was recovering quickly. But he is still in his …"  
"Did you say Barry? Barry from Central City?" Felicity asked interrupting her, as if a cord had been struck from inside her.  
"Yeah, Barry Allen. Why?"

"I… er… may have met him a bit before the meteors struck. He came up here helping us with a case. He was very excited to meet the arrow in fact. He was very sweet. Is he seeing anyone? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's just…"

"…Felicity, you're rambling." Astrid laughed, "But you mean to tell me, that he met The Arrow. Does he know that it is Oliver?"  
"Yeah, he does. I still can't believe he is in a coma." Felicity replied, remembering why they had brought up the subject in the first place.  
Astrid shook her head, though smiled. "I can't believe he knew who The Arrow was before I did and he never told me. That guy tells me everything. I sat with his father a few times,   
as his psychologist and I am pretty sure that I am the only person at CCPD who believes Barry's story."  
Felicity sighed, "But you couldn't get him out of prison?"

Astrid shook her head. "There is too much evidence against him. They refuse to reopen his case."  
Astrid was alarmed by the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her purse, in a hurry, excited that it could be Caitlin.  
Her heart sank in her chest as she saw that it was Lionel Luthor. "Excuse me for a minute," she told Felicity and made her way towards the open balcony of the restaurant, to answer her phone.

The night was cool and the sky was clear. She breathed in the air and answered the phone, clutching the folded picture in her pocket. "Lionel. Hi, I would like to thank you. We gave Oliver the antidote. It worked."

"I never underestimated that it would, Miss Sutherland. But I am calling for another reason. It seems that my associate that delivered the antidote, acted against both our best interests. you see my agent delivered a message to your associate, which I am quite sure that you may have received. I would like to tell you to take no notice of that message.   
Against my knowledge this associate was working for a third party. One that neither one of us can trust if we prefer to keep our business to ourselves. They want to bring down our corporations for their own personal gain. I would suggest, for your father's sake that you be cautious with whom you put your trust. I assure you that this agent has been dealt with."

Astrid knew that Lionel was lying through gritted teeth. Her father and her training as a criminal psychologist had both taught her how to tell when someone was lying. Though, which part was the lie? She couldn't be sure.

"I thank you for letting me know, Mr Luthor and for future reference, I hope you can be wiser with whom you trust." She hoped that he couldn't hear through her façade. She ended the call before Lionel could speak any further and placed her phone in her pocket. She pulled out the black and white picture.  
It was an image of her father speaking on the phone, dating a month after the meteor had hit. But that was impossible. Her father had died during the meteor shower. But could it be possible? There had never been a body found. She focused on the time stamp. Could it have been forged? She wasn't sure.

In her mind her father had died. If he was indeed alive he would have found some way to return to her. She needed to move on with her life and to do this, she needed to push out any thought that her father could be alive. Astrid felt the tears emerge. A voice from behind her made her jump. "Diggle told me what the agent said." It was Oliver.

Astrid turned to face him and wiped her tears away. "Well, we have nothing to worry about. Lionel just rang. Apparently, that agent was lying. They worked for some third party whose goal is to bring down big corporations. You should be careful with Queen industries, they might come after you. This picture is a lie! The time stamp has been forged!" She showed him the picture and went to tear it in her hands, as the tears began to full from her eyes. She had finally hit breaking point and she didn't know what she was capable of.  
Before she could bring herself to ripping up the photo, Oliver took it from her hands and held her tightly. She sobbed into his chest. Of all that they had been through, she was glad that she could still count on him to be there as her trusting friend, when her world was crumbling. This was why she had come to Sterling City.

Amidst her own pain, she could hear a million voices around her. No they weren't voices, they were thoughts. She was having trouble controlling her power. She could hear all the thoughts of the people in the restaurant. While she was trying to find peace within herself it was as if she had opened some sort of mental connection to the world around her.  
One person took a photo of Oliver holding Astrid and was about to put it up on the web. Her head was still facing Oliver's chest. She was tempted to break away to shout at the person but then another thought broke into her mind. It was almost a whisper so she couldn't determine how far away it was. This thought meant danger.  
"Oliver," Astrid spoke softly. "Diggle is in trouble. There is an assassin in one of the buildings. I can't tell how far away he is. He is a sniper. I can hear his thoughts. He won't harm anyone else, his only target is John. We need to do something."

"You warn Diggle. I'll find the assassin." Oliver told her. He hurried through the restaurant, to avoid making a scene, while Astrid used her reading abilities to determine where the assassin was coming from. Fortunately, he hadn't yet aimed his weapon. Astrid picked up her pace and led John and Felicity out of the restaurant, explaining the situation on the way.

"I can't read the man's thoughts anymore." Astrid fumed as they had reached the elevator. "It must be a distance thing."  
"That's ok. I can hack into the camera systems using my phone." Felicity said as she clicked an app. "OK and done… I have video footage… and now I will link to Oliver's phone so we can stay connected… Ollie? Can you hear us?"  
"I can hear you Felicity." Came Oliver's response.

"Ok good! I think he might be across the street on the corner of Fifth avenue. Level 21. He's making his way towards the stairs…" Felicity continued to give him directions.  
The hooded vigilante, known as the Arrow glided from building to building searching for the location, that Felicity had given him. She had gone quiet for now but the connection was still open. His phone was still in his pocket. He shot an anchor arrow towards the building that Felicity had mentioned. He swung in through a window on the 21st floor and ran towards the elevator. "Felicity? Which floor is he on?"  
"He just passed the 19th floor and is still heading down the stairs."

"Ok, I will go to the 17th floor and meet him in the stairwell." He climbed into the elevator and pressed the button to the 17th floor. When the doors finally opened to his chosen floor, he ran towards the stairwell, catching the attention of a group of tourists on their way out of the stairs. They were excited to see the Arrow in person and while some passed without a second glance, others tried to engage him in conversation.

Nonetheless, he pushed passed and made his way through the door of the stairwell. "Felicity, where is he?"  
"The cameras have gone dark Ollie. I have been trying to bring them back up but someone has overridden my access." there was concern in her voice.  
Oliver noticed a small note on the back of the stairwell door addressed to him with the four words 'Better luck next time' printed clearly.  
He ran out of the stairway and after the group of tourists but none of them fit the criteria of the assassin. He had simply vanished.


	10. Chapter 10

Felicity and Astrid made their way into the team Arrow headquarters behind the Verdant club room after their girls' day out. "I can't believe you never told me how great this girl is!" Felicity declared, on entering. Both the girl's excitements were dampened by the looks on both Oliver and John Diggle's faces. "Oh, no! who died?" Astrid asked, with a hint of humor and for a brief moment she thought of Barry. But Caitlin would have called her to let her know, were that the case.  
"We have a profile on the assassin from last night." John told them.  
"Who is it?" Felicity asked.

Oliver pointed to the computer screen, and spoke only two words "Floyd Lawton."  
"Floyd Lawton? I thought you… you know…" Felicity made the gesture of having her neck slit for emphasis.  
Astrid wasn't sure who they were talking about, but this news did not sound good. "Who is he?" she asked them.  
"Floyd was an exceptionally skilled marksman. We thought that Oliver had killed him. But if we are correct, then that means that he is back form the dead. The question is how?" Diggle said.

"Oh…" Astrid said. The thought that an undead marksman was out hunting people sent shivers down her spine. "Any idea why he is after Diggle?" Astrid asked Oliver.  
"Floyd… or Deadshot… had a list of targets when he was alive. He was after Diggle when I encountered him. My theory is that he is continuing with his list." Oliver replied.  
Astrid saw the irony in this. She knew that if Cisco were here, he would need to make some witty remark. She just had to say it "So what you are saying is that Deadshot is actually now Undead shot?"

Oliver and John looked at her with seriousness, though Felicity was trying to hold back a giggle.  
"I'm sorry. Really, not the time for jokes. I got it!" Astrid said. Wishing she could take back her comment. "Has anyone else been killed?" she asked them.

"Not that we know." John said switching the television to a news channel. Only the news that was broadcasting wasn't the news that they were hoping for.  
The news reporter's voice spoke "… There are reports that the Sutherland heiress: Astrid Sutherland and playboy billionaire: Oliver Queen have rekindled their relationship after their seven year break, after this picture was taken from a restaurant in Sterling City last night." The screen showed a picture of Oliver holding her from last night and then the news reporter's voice continued, "... we will be waiting for a confirmation from the two whether this is yet the case..."

Astrid's heart sank. Her mind went to what Cisco would think of this. She stormed away from the group. "Where are you going?" Oliver called out after her.  
"I saw Thea and her boyfriend going through supplies earlier. I think I need a drink." She shot back, as she left the room, heading towards the bar.  
While Oliver had founded Verdant, Thea had taken over the running of the club, despite not being of legal drinking age as of yet. She had hired her boyfriend Roy as a bartender - giving him a much needed job at the time.

"So, are the two of you back together?" Felicity asked Oliver.  
"No, we're not." Oliver answered, still looking in the direction that Astrid had left in.  
Felicity nodded. "But you still have feelings for her, Ollie. After all these years. You need to talk to her, or she will leave tomorrow and you will be left wishing you had told her. Besides if nothing comes from it, at least you tried."

"Felicity, she is going through a lot at the moment. It will only burden her more. I haven't even told her about Laurel yet." Oliver replied, glancing at Diggle who had walked to the other side of the room to make a call.  
"She leaves tomorrow, Oliver." Felicity reminded him.  
"Ok, I will talk to her." He gave in and went the way that Astrid had left in, leaving Felicity a little annoyed that she had said anything at all. Why couldn't she have kept her mouth shut? Because she loved Oliver Queen, that's why.

Astrid stared into her glass of bourbon and swirled the ice cubes. She had left a city full of destruction only to cause a media frenzy in another town. "Are you okay?" Thea asked her.  
"Did you see the news?" Astrid asked her.  
"Are you speaking of the reports that left Central City in chaos after your press conference, or the one about you and Oliver?" Thea asked with a comforting smile.  
"Whichever! Both I guess… Along with every other little thing going on at the moment." Astrid said glumly. Thea glanced up behind Astrid's head, making Astrid turn around and see Oliver standing behind her.

She smiled politely and he took a seat beside her, gesturing to Thea to give them some privacy.  
"Let me guess… you have come to tell me that Central City has just gone up in smoke and I have lost everyone and everything that I ever loved." She said sarcastically.  
"Not exactly." Oliver said with a smile. He was trying to find the right words to say. He kept the wall in his mind up so that she wouldn't be able to read his thoughts. He was thankful for learning this survival skill on that island. It came in handy for blocking out uncomfortable memories. "I didn't tell you this before, but Laurel died during the meteor shower."

"Oh, Oliver…" Astrid brought her hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I…er. I'm sorry."  
"No, don't be sorry. I didn't say anything because you lost your father and I knew how you were feeling. You didn't need the added stress. Laurel and I were not even together. We couldn't get things right after I returned from the island. I was trying to deal with becoming the Arrow and she... well we just couldn't get it together."  
Astrid consumed the remainder of her drink and motioned for Roy to pour her another. Oliver requested one too.

She waited for Oliver to continue. They received their drinks and Oliver took a sip. "I just want to tell you, that I understand how you are feeling at the moment because I have been there. But I need you to know something and I am not asking you for anything, except that you work on getting yourself into a better place." He told her.  
"Oliver, where are you going with this?" Astrid asked, she had a feeling that she knew and she didn't want to hear it.

"Astrid, I love you… But I agree that we shouldn't be together right now. You only just came out of a coma and you're trying to work everything out. And you're clearly in love with Cisco. But I want you to know that I will always be here for you, as your friend, when you need it."  
Astrid drank her bourbon, silently until it was gone and then pushed the glass away from her. She had had enough. "You were right about something, Oliver. I don't need to be in a relationship with anyone at the moment. I need to focus on myself…" That was her final decision.

She was about to continue but was interrupted by her phone. She pulled it out of her purse, to see that it was Cisco calling. She looked up at Oliver, puzzled. He got up and left her in peace to answer her phone. These past few days had been the longest that she had gone without talking to him, that she could remember. She needed to hear his voice.  
"Cisco, hi. Is everything ok?" she asked.

"Astrid. You need to come back home immediately! We have a situation here and Caitlin told me to ring you…" he spoke so quickly, that Astrid had to really listen to make out just what he was saying.

"Cisco, is everything ok? Is Caitlin ok? Is Barry ok? What is going on?"  
"Caitlin is confused on what to do! We need you! Barry is awake and he is… confused about everything." Cisco hung up, before Astrid could respond.  
"Oliver!" Astrid ran into the Arrow's headquarters. "I need to go home! Can I take your helicopter? Mine's still in Central City, I brought my motorbike…" she was rambling, excitedly. It delighted Felicity to see this sight of Astrid. A happier Astrid.

"Barry is awake!" Astrid blurted out the best news that she had heard in a very long time. "He is awake from his coma."


End file.
